From cleansing your system to losing weight, it is the goal of many to decrease their consumption of added sugars. But what happens if we can’t stop our body from craving it?

Sugar cravings are a formidable opponent to anyone trying to stay on a nutritious path. Sugar cravings can attack in the middle of the day or night, and it takes the will power of a comic book hero to say no to such temptation. But what if we can identify and address the underlying reason why we feel such a need for sugar?

New York internist and gastroenterologist, Dr. Niket Sonpal who is also a faculty member at Touro College of Medicine says, “If more people could learn to pinpoint the reasons why they experience sugar cravings they would have better tools to avoid breaking their nutritional goals.”

7 Ways to Conquer Sugar Cravings

Drink water; you might be dehydrated.

Many people mistake thirst for sugar cravings. “We know that we want something fresh and cold and we usually identify that with sugary drinks,” says Dr. Sonpal. “When our bodies have a deficiency in fluids, it can’t efficiently breakdown glycogen, and this causes the urge to consume something sugary. In reality, what you need to do first is drink water and observe how you feel,” he explains.

Try to Decrease Your Sugar Intake Gradually

Scans have shown that sugar fuels every cell in the brain. “Our bodies view sugar as a reward. But too much of a good thing is not good at all in this case. By partaking in overconsumption of sugar you are reinforcing your body’s need for that reward, essentially becoming addicted to it,” explains Dr. Sonpal. But like many addictions, it is not a reasonable or sustainable strategy to quit cold turkey. If you feel as though you are out of control or moody without your first soft drink of the day or until you have a piece of chocolate, you need to consider slowly draining your system from that need for sugar.

Rethink social habits that drive you towards sugar

Many of us have social rituals during our day that help us destress amidst countless tasks and meetings. “If you have a standing ritual with a friend or coworker of eating a piece of cake after lunch every day or running to the coffee shop on the corner to get the most sugary caffeinated iced drink you can find, rethink those social behaviors,” says Dr. Sonpal. Try to put something else in place that is healthy but rewarding.

Evaluate your protein intake

Many famous diet plans like Paleo, Vegetarian, and Keto seek to reduce sugars in your food. Sometimes a good way to kick your sugar cravings to the curb is having some good ole’ fashion protein. “Protein reduces the speed with which your body processes sugars and in turn helps you need lower amounts to experience that reward. Eggs, black beans, broccoli, and tofu are really healthy ways to get that protein in to quench that yearn for sugar,” suggests Dr. Sonpal.

If push comes to shove, pick fruit

There will be times when your craving for sugar will be exacerbated by the stress of the day or however many days you’ve gone without consuming it. You may feel like you can have a cheat day. According to Dr. Sonpal, “Your best response to a worsening need for sugar is to eat a piece of fruit. If you get to a point where you feel frustrated, instead of eating processed sugar, eat fruit. Fruits are sweet and have natural sugar that can address your sweet tooth without throwing out your entire effort,” says the NYC gastroenterologist. With the fruit, you will get added vitamins and fiber.

Fiber is your friend

Fiber helps clean out your system, and it is processed more slowly by the body. Fiber helps you feel fuller for longer effectively reducing your craving for mid-meal snacks. “Many people will be very deliberate with their decision to reduce sugar in their meals but will ultimately cave in when their body needs a snack because a lot of the snacks we have in our pantry have sugar in them. Fiber and lots of water would help you stay full for longer periods,” Says Dr. Sonpal.

Observe your consumption of starch

Starches like white rice, white bread, pasta are complex carbs that the body process as simple carbs. They end up affecting the sugar levels in your body and feeding into your need for sugar as fuel for brain activity and energy. If you have cut out processed sugars but continue to eat an abundance of starches, then your next step is to progressively reduce your consumption of those foods as well to clean your system of the need for sugars.

The co‐author for the best-selling Master the Boards: USMLE Step 2 CK, Master the Boards Step 3, And Master the Boards: Internal Medicine. He is also the Chief Operating Officer for Medquest Test Prep, Director of Medical Education for Picmonic Test Prep, and a recognized expert on medical test prep.

How do you beat the sugar cravings? I keep only dark chocolate in the house that I won’t overdo it on- thanks to it being so rich! Let me know your tips in the comments below!

If you are trying to quit smoking or you are looking for alternative options, vaping may be the perfect solution for you. Arguably a healthier choice, vaping may bring incredible benefits to your lifestyle as well. Here are all the benefits explained.

Protecting Others

With second-hand smoke being the cause of over 600,000 deaths worldwide each year, the vapour produced and exhaled does not contain the same chemicals that are found in cigarettes, meaning that there is no second-hand smoke risk to consider. If you use your vaping device indoors, those around you who do not smoke are at next to no risk of developing any smoking-related illnesses. This means that choosing to vape over smoking will not only protect others but prevent any of your friends or family from getting ill.

Oh, the elusive good mood. How come we can’t just wake up to it every single day, or in my case, why can’t every day be the weekend, which just naturally seems to put me in a much better mood!

Unfortunately, good moods can be hard to come by for many of us, especially for those of us who aren’t naturally early risers, and morning people! I have had to learn over the years to train myself to be in a good mood upon first waking, as I remember waking up even back in middle and high school in a grumpy, not happy to be awake mood!

Here are some of my awsome tips I’ve learned over the years that easily and instantly help boost my mood. They work great not only for upon waking, but also when your day isn’t going so well, or you find yourself feeling down or even angry, worried, or stressed out to the max! These 7 tips help calm me almost instantly and help me think more positively, and I quickly find my bad mood lifting.

7 Tips for Improving Mood Quickly and Easily:

1. I know you’ve heard this a hundred times, but that is because it works. Practice Gratitude. Start journaling or making a list in your head of all the things you’re grateful. I know this can be tough on those days when you just aren’t feeling good about anything going on in your life at the present. But guess what?! You’re alive and you’re breathing, and that is something right there to be thankful for. right?! You probably have a roof over your head as you’re thinking about your rough day, and you probably had breakfast. Two more things to be extremely grateful about, as many do not even have that! The sun may be shining – another thing to be grateful for.

It can be tough to start at first, but once you get going, you quickly realize there is so much to be grateful for in this life, and when you’re heart is filled with gratitude, there is no more room for sadness, worry, and/or anger.

2. Meditation. Along with starting my day thinking about 10 things I’m grateful for, I start each morning out with a 10 minute morning meditation to help me start my day on the right track. I’ve also found over the years that meditation is hands down, one of the best ways for me to calm down when I’m extremely upset, very angry, or incredibly worried and stressed about something. I turn on some relaxing music, and focus on my breathing. I then focus on my heart and feel it warming. I focus on it as long as I need, until I feel better.

Another great meditation I love that seems to work great for improving mood quickly is imagining a beam of light coming through the top of my head, through my crown chakra and radiating through my body. I imagine breathing in this light and then breathing out beautiful color into the world (whichever color I’m feeling most that day).

Meditation can be a great source for improving mood. In fact, I single-handedly give it all the credit for getting me through my divorce. I was so stressed and worried and had no idea how I was going to survive on my own after being “taken care” for the last decade, and meditation is what got me through those dark days and some of the darkest moments of my entire life!

3. Dancing. This one is new for me, but I found it works miraculously at cheering me up and almost within just seconds of doing it! I learned this from getting Reiki done the first time this summer. Dance is a fantastic way to open up the sacral chakra. I found it to do a whole lot more for me than that, and found that within just a few minutes of turning on a favorite song and starting to let my body sway and move to it, I found myself happy and feeling so much better, right away! It doesn’t matter if you can’t dance, you’ll find your body loves it anyway, and so does your mind too! You can do it by yourself or with a friend, just find some great tunes and let your body move!

4. Get Outside in the Sun. There is something about the sun shining down on me and warming my face and body that just does it for me! I find the bad mood lifting and my mind relaxing and taking in the warmth and relaxation. Being outdoors is great for boosting mood, as we find that nature is the ultimate natural “Zen.” I can do an activity like gardening, going for a walk, or riding my bike, but even just sitting down on a chair on the patio with the sun beating down on me, will be all I need to start feeling better and happier, right away!

5. Speaking of the Outdoors, Exercise is a natural mood boost. I know like me, many of you just read that and went, “ugh!” I know, I know, exercise isn’t my thing either! In fact, I find myself often angry and annoyed as I’m doing it, counting down the minutes. But I’ve stuck with it for years, and the reason why is for how I feel right afterward. I feel good. I feel happy. I feel good knowing I just got in a good workout for the day, which is sometimes better than most can say! I feel accomplished just having done it, and as we all know, study after study has shown that it improves mood. I notice I naturally eat better on the days I work out too (probably not wanting all that hard work to have been for nothing), and as we know, eating right can improve mood too, probably mostly for the same reason as exercise, just knowing we did some good and ate right today!

6. Grabbing Lunch with a Friend. Sometimes a better mood just calls for a little social interaction with someone we love being around. I tend to have a bit of a loner disposition and find solace in being alone, but sometimes the meditation isn’t enough, sometimes I need to call up a friend, get out of the house and be social! It’s important here to pick people who build you up, support you, and make you happy, so choose wisely when you reach out to someone in hopes of a mood boost. I’ve never understood why people keep other friends/family in their lives who just bring them down. I’ve been known to drop those kinds of friends like flies and only surround myself with a few, but super amazing, positive, uplifting people! People I know I can rely on when I need them, even if it’s just to feel happier!

7. Sometimes you just need a little extra help. This is when I reach for Eva Better Mood +, which works wonders for me, especially if it happens to be some nasty anxiety I’m battling. In fact, just in the last week, I woke with some nasty anxiety (and once in the middle of the night) and quickly popped a couple of these supplements and felt instantly better! Like INSTANTLY! The anxiety was gone in a flash, I didn’t even have to sit around and wait for the supplement to kick in, I just felt it IMMEDIATELY! I was pretty amazed! It helped relax and calm me and I drifted right back off to sleep again.

Eva Better Mood + contains raw acidic cannabinoids from raw hemp that help to regulate our mood as well as restore homeostasis without psychoactivity. It is non-psychoactive, so it won’t cause anxiety – only relieve it! It has been shown that the endocannabinoid system is linked to regulation of mood and since most people are not consuming cannabinoids, most people are experiencing a cannabinoid deficiency contributing to our inability to regulate our moods naturally. CBD from hemp works on multiple systems throughout the body to provide targeted relief and help bring our body’s back to balance. Hemp is also a superfood in its own right, being a complete source of plant protein with a perfect ratio of omega fatty acids and a great source of chlorophyll. Using hemp in it’s raw, whole plant form allows for a far greater rate of absorption into the body meaning you’re getting significantly more of your money’s worth than you would with an extract or oil based hemp CBD product. [Read more…]